Less than two hours before tipoff Monday, Earl Boykins had to make an important stop before he could officially join the Rockets.

He had to hit the mall to pick up some basketball shoes. The Rockets did not have a pair of size-9s.

Boykins could not have imagined how much he would need them. The Rockets don’t want to think about how much work they could be putting in.

Boykins, who signed a 10-day contract with the Rockets barely in time to get on the active list an hour before the game, came up large, sinking four free throws to clinch a 113-106 overtime win over the Sacramento Kings at Toyota Center. But the Rockets might need him far more than planned after point guard Goran Dragic limped off with a sprained left ankle.

X-rays on Dragic’s ankle were negative, and he said he will be able to play Tuesday in Dallas.

“I’m fine,” Dragic said. “It just hurts when you twist it, and then it’s OK. It’s going to be a little bit sore tomorrow, but it’s just a minor sprain. Tomorrow is going to be a huge game. It’s going to be payday. We have to win that, especially with what they did two days ago.”

Center Marcus Camby tore ligaments in his left wrist, but he said he had no doubt he will play with the injury.

“I tore some ligaments in my wrist,” Camby said. “I’m all right, though. I’ll be out there tomorrow.”

The Rockets had come perilously close to a different kind of pain, with the Kings nearly blowing them out in the first quarter.

“It was imperative,” Camby said of the comeback win. “I was scoreboard watching tonight, saw Denver won in Chicago, saw earlier that Utah won in New Jersey. I know … how important these games are.”

If not for the last-minute addition of Boykins, the Rockets might not have escaped with the win. They needed a huge bounce-back performance from Patrick Patterson, who went from an 0-for-7 shooting game to scoring a career-high 24 points and shutting down Kentucky teammate DeMarcus Cousins in overtime.

They needed a first-half comeback from down 16 and a fourth-quarter rally from an eight-point deficit with 5½ minutes left.

They desperately needed to cut out the turnovers that sent the Kings flying on the break in the first half on their way to 28 fast-break points.

But none of that likely would have been enough had Boykins not stepped in for Dragic when he went out with foul trouble in the second half and again with 1:18 left in OT.

“This is definitely a unique situation,” said Boykins, who had 10 points and five assists. “But when you’ve been around as long as I have, you know how to play in the NBA. The guys, they had confidence in me. It’s easier to play when your teammates have that kind of confidence in you.”

The Rockets forced overtime with a 9-0 fourth-quarter run to take their first lead since the game’s opening basket with 31/2 minutes remaining. The Kings, who got a career-high 38 points from Cousins, took the lead when Marcus Thornton finished an awkward drive with 18.3 seconds left.

Patterson, who scored 12 fourth-quarter points, hit a jumper from 22 feet to tie the game.

Tuesday night: Rockets at DallasWhen/where: 7:30 p.m.; American Airlines Center.TV/radio: FSH; 610 AM, 96.5 FM, 850 AM (Spanish).Players to watchRockets G Goran Dragic. He made five of seven 3-point attempts against the Mavs on Saturday, scoring 24 points as Dallas went under screens. They likely will switch defenses to take away those open outside shots.Mavericks F Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki scored 31 points against the Rockets on Saturday at Toyota Center and has averaged 26.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in the past five games.Rockets (27-23) update: The Rockets make their first trip to Dallas this season after losing to the Mavs in overtime Saturday. They are 1-8 when completing back-to-backs on the road. Goran Dragic said he expects to play after spraining his left ankle against the Kings, but it will depend on how quickly he recovers. Marcus Camby said he will play with torn ligaments in his left wrist.Mavericks (28-22) update: The Mavericks have a five-game winning streak against the Rockets after sweeping last season’s series and winning Saturday at Toyota Center. The Mavericks, who have been off since Saturday, have won five of eight games. Center Brendan Haywood and guard Delonte West were upgraded Monday to questionable.By the numbers: 17 — Turnovers combined for the Rockets and Mavericks in Saturday’s overtime game.
jonathan.feigen@chron.com